Checa Tops German Qualifying Round

NURBURG, Germany – Althea Racing Team Ducati teammates Carlos Checa and Davide Giugliano paced the first round of qualifying for the Superbike World Championship at the Nürburgring Friday.

Checa and Giugliano went 1-2 in the first qualifying session, with Checa enjoying a small but clear advantage on lap time with his fastest time of 1:55.307 versus 1:55.750 for Giugliano.

Close behind Giugliano, Tom Sykes of the Kawasaki Racing Team slotted in third with Eugene Laverty of the Aprilia Racing Team making a good jump up to fourth.

Leon Haslam (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) had a much better time than his teammate Marco Melandri, with Haslam fifth fastest and Melandri 12th.

Max Biaggi (Aprilia Racing Team) was sixth overall. Jonathan Rea (Honda World Superbike Team) and Leon Camier (FIXI Crescent Suzuki) provided a cosmopolitan mix of machinery, ensuring that all manufacturers were represented by at least one rider on the front two rows of the provisional grid.